Goblins

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“Spaceship?”

Upon awakening, Rudy frowned as he listened to Hal’s report in the small dining area of the landing craft while having breakfast. He was eating a balanced stick bar with raisins and yogurt, his favorite.

“Yes, Master. I will send the data,” Hal replied.

Hal projected the image of the spaceship sent by the drone onto the monitor screen attached to the wall. The spaceship was over 700 meters long, covered in ferns, and had holes in the metal casing in some places, indicating that it had been discarded long ago.

“Although its shape is old, due to its size, it could be a cruiser-class battleship,” Rudy said.

“Based on the data, it is a cruiser of the Galactic Empire from around 1200 years ago,” Hal replied.

This spaceship could be a crucial clue in investigating this planet. It was worth checking out, so Rudy crossed his arms, pondering, and decided that his destination was the mysterious spaceship.

“Are there any signs of life within the spaceship?” Rudy asked.

“At present, there is only one moving life form detected. Whether it is an intelligent life form is unclear,” Hal replied.

“If that’s the case, it’s dangerous to go with the landing craft without any weapons. Can we still maintain communication upon arrival at the location?” Rudy inquired.

“Wireless communication is possible. However, since we have not installed communication satellites yet, communication will be impossible once the landing craft is more than 10km away,” Hal explained.

Currently, the landing craft was located 9km away from the mysterious spaceship.

“In that case, it should be alright. Understood. I’ll go and check it out. Please check if the craft is functioning properly in the meantime,” Rudy instructed.

“Yes, Master. Please take care,” Hal replied.

After ending the conversation with Hal, Rudy opened the door of the landing craft and took his first step on the ground. The ground was covered in soft grass and moss, unlike a carpet. The refreshing natural wind blowing against his cheeks felt great.

“Well then…” Rudy took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air of early spring entering his lungs.

After refreshing his mood, Rudy checked the analog finger watch made of platinum on his left ring finger. It reflected the morning sun and showed 7 o’clock local time. (T/N: If we do manage space travel then this ring will be nice to have)

Before departing, Rudy changed his left eye implant to thermal mode. There were no large enemies nearby that attacked humans.

He turned off the thermal mode and projected a screen to display the map, locating the abandoned spaceship at it´s destination.

“Let’s go,” Rudy said.

Using the “Survival” skill installed in his electronic brain, Rudy walked effortlessly towards the west in the forest.

One hour after walking in the forest, Rudy had walked half the distance to the destination when he found water seeping out of a rock.

Normally, he should avoid drinking untreated water, but he had been walking for a long time and was thirsty.

He scooped water in his hand and analyzed the water content with his left eye implant.

“No harmful toxins or parasites… Oh? There’s also mana in the water,” Rudy said.

Rudy judged that the water was safe to drink because there were no harmful components such as E. coli. As for mana…if it were harmful, he would have died by now.

He scooped water again and drank it this time. The cold natural water was delicious, even though it was just water.

As Rudy rested, he heard rustling leaves behind him.

He quickly turned around and used his left eye in thermal mode to confirm. He found a creature about the size of a child in the bushes. Looking around, he realized that there were many of the same creatures surrounding him.

Four, five, six… seven. They had surrounded him. Judging from their body shape, they were likely goblins that he saw on the monitor before landing. They probably weren’t friendly.

Rudy slowly stood up, rhythmically tapping the handle of the short sword on his waist and starting to sway his body.

…They were coming!

Feeling a change in the presence from behind, he gathered momentum and rotated his body, drawing my sword from my waist and mowing down my attacker.

Rudy’s attack severed the goblin’s wrist, and the goblin screamed, dropping the club it had been holding to the ground.

Trying to stop the bleeding, the goblin pressed its arm where its hand had been severed. However, the blood flowing from the cut did not stop, and it rained blood in the air.

Rudy delivered the finishing blow by slicing through the goblin’s shoulder. The goblin, bleeding profusely from its shoulder, collapsed to the ground.

“It really does look like a goblin tribe.”

Rudy frowned at the bleeding goblin, convulsing uncontrollably.

Space transportation is a pretty dangerous profession, and Rudy has fought pirates who attacked him several times. Based on that experience, he had no qualms about killing. It wasn’t like he enjoyed being a murderer. He just thought that if someone came to kill him, whether they were goblins or humans, it was only natural to kill them.

He sensed a presence from behind again and turned around. This time, two goblins armed themselves and attacked Rudy.

The goblin on the right swung a club at him, and Rudy met it with his short sword. The reinforced ceramic blade of the short sword was sharp, and when it sliced the club in half, the goblin was surprised and blinked.

However, Rudy couldn’t respond in time to the goblin on the left, who attacked with a rusty sword. He instinctively put his left arm forward.

“Shit!” Even as he thought that, it was already too late. Rudy’s action was a mistake due to his lack of experience.

The goblin he thought he had cut laughed at him. However, he quickly realized something was wrong and tilted his head.

Because, despite having been cut, Rudy felt no sensation, and he didn’t even flinch. In other words, his attack didn’t work. The goblin, realizing this, twisted its already ugly face.

“That’s some good coating.” Rudy praised the clothing made by Hal in his mind. And then, he switched gears and counterattacked.

Grabbing the left shoulder of the bewildered goblin, he plunged his short sword into its heart. The goblin looked at the short sword embedded in its chest, coughing up blood and convulsing.

He quickly withdrew the short sword from its body and swung it in a flash, decapitating the goblin on the right.

Immediately, he leapt backward, putting some distance between himself and the two remaining goblins.

The decapitated goblin had a dumbfounded look on its face before its head slowly fell back. At the same time, blood gushed out like a fountain from its severed neck.

There were four goblins left. As their comrade was taken down, they screeched and cursed at him. He tried to calm his excited heart.

He shook the blood off his short sword and twirled it lightly in his right hand. He beckoned the goblins with his left hand.

Provoked by his actions, the three goblins, except for the one at the back, became enraged and charged at him.

As the goblins approached within two meters of him, his electronic brain kicked into high gear, initiating rapid processing.

The approaching goblins seemed to move in slow motion, giving him an advantage in their slowed movements.

To explain, he can force his electronic brain to enter a state of extreme concentration called the “Zone,” which increases his kinetic vision and actions up to 30 times their normal speed.

However, the drawback is that he needs a 30-minute charge time before reusing it, and the usage time is limited to five seconds. After that, it automatically reverts back to normal.

In the world of slow motion, he slipped through the gap between the two goblins, swinging his short sword left and right, and severed their necks.

Then, he plunged his short sword into the throat of the third goblin and rotated his body, turning behind it.

As the Zone ended and the world returned to normal, he cleaned the blood off his short sword and sheathed it behind the backs of the three goblins.

The goblins turned around upon hearing the sound, but at that moment, blood spurted out from their severed necks.

The goblins fell to the ground, unable to comprehend what had just happened, and passed away.

The last remaining goblin panicked and began to flee after witnessing its companions being killed.

Rudy, considering it bothersome to call for his comrades, drew his bow and arrows from his back. Closing his right eye, he switched the implant on his left eye to zoom mode and targeted the goblin. He released an arrow towards the goblin’s back, and the arrow flew in a gentle arc, piercing through the back of the goblin’s head.

After stowing his bow, Rudy checked the possessions on the goblin’s corpse. “A rusty sword and a wooden club. He’s only wearing a loincloth… he would freeze to death in winter.”

Rudy shrugged towards the corpse before walking back into the forest.

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